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Shareholder files lawsuit against Medient Studios

A local shareholder has filed suit against troubled Effingham County entertainment company Medient Studios.

June O’Hearn, a resident of Chatham County, filed suit against Medient and its board of directors in Effingham’s superior court late Friday, a copy of which was provided to the Savannah Morning News.

The suit accuses the company of gross mismanagement, breaching its fiduciary duty and violating the Exchange Act through “false and misleading statements” to shareholders, among other charges.

O’Hearn owns approximately 3 million shares of Medient stock, according to the filing. She is seeking unspecified damages.

The suit lists current board of directors members Charles Koppelman, Joseph Giamichael, David Paterson, current CEO Jake Shapiro and former CEO Manu Kumaran as defendants.

Reached Friday, O’Hearn said she had no additional comment.

Medient Studios also is being sued by Kumaran, who was dismissed on June 9 by the board of directors. At that time, Shapiro was issued 40 million preferred shares as part of his promotion, a controversial decision among the company’s investors.

Medient Studios reached an agreement with the Effingham County Industrial Authority to build a $90 million studioplex on its land in August 2013, but has struggled to raise financing for the project.

On June 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the suspension of trading in shares of the company until July 9 due to concerns about the company’s recent operations.

“The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of MDNT because of questions that have been raised about the accuracy and adequacy of publicly disseminated information concerning, among other things, the company’s total shares outstanding and its operations,” said the SEC.

Medient officials have not returned calls for comment since June 12.

JAY SELF NO LONGER MEDIENT SPOKESMAN

Jay Self, the former director of Savannah Film Services, says he is no longer working for Medient Studios. Self joined Medient in November 2013, a little more than a month after being dismissed by the city of Savannah over issues surrounding the shooting of “Spongebob Squarepants 2.” Self confirmed Monday he is no longer acting as a spokesman for the company.